Frequently Asked Questions
What is The Tab?
Why should I write for you?
How does this work?
What kind of stories do you publish?
Do you guys tell me what to write?
What stories don’t you publish?
Why do you mainly cover student stories?
What are the incentives? Do I get paid?
How do I get started?
How do I submit my story?
What happens once it’s submitted?
Why do you edit stories?
When will my story be published?
How do I see how many people are reading my story?
Do I have to write a certain number of stories every week/month?
What positions are available on the team?
How do I get help with work experience and job applications?
Can I write anonymously?
What is The Tab?
The Tab is the world’s biggest platform for young journalists. We run local sites at more than 80 universities in the UK and US. Each site is run by a team of student reporters and editors, who write stories, hold meetings and build a huge and engaged audience.
They are backed up by professional staff (we have 52 in total) at offices in London and New York. Their job is to support our journalists with education, opportunities and powerful technology.
We launched The Tab because we wanted to build a site which was free from the insularity, irrelevance and low audience figures which plague a lot of student journalism.
Why should I write for you?
The Tab offers a bigger audience for young journalists than any other site: our average story reaches 3,300 people. And we have an international reputation: Tab stories appear in the British and American media every day.
We pour time into our editors and senior people, to make sure they get the best jobs and excel once they’re in them. Whether you want to be a professional journalist or not, our training and support will prepare you for a future career. We’ll teach you valuable skills like writing, self-confidence, and talking to complete strangers.
We offer training events, online seminars, internship programmes and job opportunities, both at The Tab and elsewhere. That’s why our best students have gone to work for top media companies like BuzzFeed, Vice, the Guardian, and MailOnline.
How does this work?
The first time you write, you’ll talk (via livechat, email or phone) with a professional editor in our office. They will guide you through the process and make sure your first story is one you can be proud of.
After that, we’ll introduce you to your local student editor. You can still talk with our professional staff whenever you want, but your local editor will be your main point of contact – they invite you to meetings and socials, and help you with your next story.
What kind of stories do you publish?
We publish an incredible mix of breaking news, fashion, opinion, interviews, lifestyle posts and serious reporting, like our coverage of the campus protests last year.
Our best local stories are original and get read across campus within minutes. But we also publish pieces about issues that students talk about among themselves across America.
The first question you should ask yourself is: “who cares?”
Do you guys tell me what to write?
We encourage you to come up with own ideas, provided they meet our guidelines. If you want us to assign you an idea, we can – just chat to us.
What stories don’t you publish?
We don’t tend to cover stories about professional sport, Hollywood movies, or global politics because they are already covered extensively by the main news media. Meanwhile, campus stories are either ignored, or distorted by the national media and young peoples’ perspectives are neglected.
Why do you mainly cover student stories?
We focus on the university bubble, because that’s where we can find and say something new. There are hundreds of big campus stories which go unreported and our role is to find them.
And we encourage our contributors to leave their bedroom where possible to speak to people and get new, original information. It’s so much more powerful to interview people about an issue than to just rant about your opinion. You will always have a clearer picture of the reality of a situation after you have spoken to others.
What are the incentives? Do I get paid?
There are huge perks to joining The Tab. We offer you a bigger audience than anyone else, a professional team of editors who can help you with your stories and your job applications, a powerful tech platform and a great social side.
In February, for the first time, we are paying our best contributors cash prizes if their stories get a lot of shares.
How do I get started?
Once you’ve signed up, you’ll have the chance to speak with an editor in our office. You can live chat with them, or if you don’t have time, you can talk to us by email or arrange a phone call.
The first thing we’ll ask is: “Do you have an idea for a story?” It’s not a problem if you don’t – we can help you come up with one really quickly. Once you’ve agreed an idea, we will set you a deadline and check in regularly to ensure it’s going well.
How do I submit my story?
You can sign into our WordPress dashboard using the email and password you signed up with. It’s really easy to use, but here’s a quick tutorial video if you want it.
What happens once it’s submitted?
The editor you spoke to will be in touch to give feedback and suggest edits and changes. We aim to publish within 24 hours of you submitting – once your edits are agreed. We’ll publish the story and publicize it on social media (make sure you do the same).
Why do you edit stories?
All writing is improved with a second pair of eyes. Even the very best, most experienced writers have their work edited by professionals. If you’re reading a story in a newspaper or magazine, at least four people will have edited it after it was written.
We know how important your own words are, and how jarring it can be when someone changes them. That’s why we always discuss edits with you before publishing. You should embrace editing, and learn from the suggested changes – they come from experience.
When and where will my story be published?
We aim to publish within 24 hours of you submitting your story. It will appear on your university’s site – you can find it by using the dropdown menu next to the Tab logo at the top of this page.
How do I see how many people are reading my story?
If you’re logged in, just go to your story and you’ll see the figures just above the headline. In the first 24 hours, we’ll tell you how many people are reading the story right now. After that, we’ll tell you the total audience.
And you can see more stats at team.thetab.com, including your historical totals and how your university ranks against others.
Do I have to write a certain number of stories every week/month?
It’s up to you how much you write. You can apply for a Senior Reporter position which requires you to write one story per week in term time. Other positions come with similar expectations.
In exchange, you get the title, a spot on the core editorial team, and priority for internships and training events.
What positions are available on the team?
Besides Senior Reporter (see above), we have an Editor at each university, and other editors beneath them, who help get stories published.
If you’re interested in Marketing or Social Media, we also offer positions in those areas. Ask your editor or talk to us.
How do I get help with work experience and job applications?
We always offer work experience to our editors and best reporters first. Journalism is competitive: if you want to be considered, it’s up to you to prove you deserve it.
If you need a reference, advice, or anything else relating to a job application, we can always help. Just email [email protected].
Can I write anonymously?
No – it’s important to be clear about who wrote a story, so people can check accuracy and respond fairly.